obdurate
Americanadjective
-
unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
- Synonyms:
- inflexible, unbending, callous, obstinate, hard
-
stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent.
an obdurate sinner.
- Synonyms:
- shameless, reprobate, unregenerate
adjective
-
not easily moved by feelings or supplication; hardhearted
-
impervious to persuasion, esp to moral persuasion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obdurate
1400–50; late Middle English obdurat < Latin obdūrātus (past participle of obdūrāre to harden), equivalent to ob- ob- + dūr ( us ) hard + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Obdurate is a formal word meaning stubborn. If you want to major in English, but your parents are obdurate that you should go premed, they might go so far as to threaten not to pay your tuition. This adjective descends from Latin obdurare, "to harden." A near synonym is adamant, from Latin adamas, "hard metal, diamond." So both of these synonyms derive from the quality of hardness being associated with a stubborn personality.
Vocabulary lists containing obdurate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Obdurate, he took the presidency of the Citizens' Union and organized a "Fusion Ticket."
From Time Magazine Archive
Me censuring, ye have proclaim'd me oft Obdurate.
From The Iliad of Homer Translated into English Blank Verse by William Cowper by Cowper, William
Obdurate, and insensible to suffering as Marble had ever appeared to me, I was not prepared to find him giving such evidence of feeling.
From Afloat and Ashore A Sea Tale by Cooper, James Fenimore
"Obdurate clay with a sort of recalcitrant, unintelligent life of its own."
From Secret Places of the Heart by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Obdurate, ob′dū-rāt, adj. hardened in heart or in feelings: difficult to influence, esp. in a moral sense: stubborn: harsh.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
